Borderlands 2 Doomsday Trailer and Release Date

We knew Borderlands 2 was coming, we just didn’t know when. But as of now, Gearbox software has made it officially official with a solid release date and a killer Doomsday announcement trailer.

To announce this joyous occasion, Gearbox has put together one of the most engaging video announcement trailers I’ve seen in quite some time. Dubstep may not be the most pleasant music I’ve ever heard, but this trailer, along with the infamous Clap Trap, makes the music surprisingly enjoyable.

There you have it. September 18th, 2012 marks the date we can all return to Pandora and satiate our desire to pulverize flaming midgets with a bazillion different types of weapons. But according to Chris Faylor, Community Manager for Gearbox Software, this trailer fails to barely even scratch the surface of the new additions to this highly anticipated game.

The first Borderlands was a bit of a sleeper hit that caught a lot of people off-guard with the sheer level of variety and reward for every action. Needless to say, I spent hundreds of hours on this game. No two playthroughs were the same and that just kept me coming back for more.

This time around we are introduced to four new characters who more or less appear to be quite similar to those of the first title; at least in concept. This time, though, each character has a unique action skill that centers around a multi-tiered skill tree. As the game progresses and you rack up kills and complete quests you will earn experience that can be used to start plowing through those skill trees.

Now, you may be thinking that these skill trees sound exactly the same as the ones seen in the first Borderlands, but these ones do more than simply provide additional battle perks and passive stats – they actually allow you to change the way you play the game.

One example that Chris gave was in regard to Salvador – dubbed the Gunzerker. His action skill consists of the ability to momentarily dual wield any weapon in the game. However, you have a few choices when it comes to choosing how he plays. Different skill trees exist for both the player who wants to just charge in and blow absolutely everything to kingdom come as well as the one who wants to take things a bit more slowly and land the perfect shot every time. It’s up to you.

Game Designer Jonathan Heminway said that Borderlands 2 isn’t simply about making a few massive changes to the overall look and feel of the game. Rather, it is about making thousands of little adjustments here and there in addition to those massive ones.

The year has barely started and yet I am already looking forward to then end of it thanks to this announcement. As time soldiers on and we get closer to the release date expect loads of new information about Borderlands 2.

As for now, anyone who pre-orders it will score access to the Borderlands 2 Premier Club which earns you some in-game bonuses including a set of golden guns to help you round out your absurd gun collection.